Written Answers Wednesday 25 March 2009

Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16565 by Richard Lochhead on 9 October 2008, whether it has published the summary of responses to its Consultation on the Use, Sale, Distribution and Possession of Electronic Training Aids on its website.

Richard Lochhead: A summary of these responses will be published on the Scottish Government website by the end of March. Complete responses, where the respondents have agreed to their responses being made public, have been placed in the Scottish Government library.

Census

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to include a question on nationality in the 2011 census; what options will be available to respondents, and whether respondents will be allowed to identify themselves separately as both Scottish and British.

John Swinney: A new question on national identity is proposed for Scotland’s 2011 Census. This will complement the question on ethnic group and allow people to express their sense of being (for example) "Scottish", "Indian" or "Polish" (or any combination of national identity, for example both "Scottish" and "British"). Testing of the question has not yet been completed and the exact wording and response options which will be proposed for use in 2011 have therefore not been finalised.

Class Sizes

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21414 by Fiona Hyslop on 9 March 2009, at which of the bi-monthly meetings between the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and COSLA reducing class sizes and increasing teacher numbers were discussed and what the outcome of the discussions were.

Keith Brown: All of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning’s bi-monthly meetings with COSLA discuss progress on the concordat as a whole and all the commitments it contains. The outcome of these discussions is a continued focus by the Scottish Government and its partners in local government on taking forward the joint commitments set out in the concordat.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what interests in any aspects of banking have been declared by each member of the Council of Economic Advisers.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any member of the Council of Economic Advisers has declared interests in (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (b) HBOS, (c) Lloyds TSB, (d) HSBC or (e) the Clydesdale Bank or its parent company.

John Swinney: I refer the member to answer to question S3W-19401 on 21 January 2009; question S3W-17089 on 5 November 2008, and question S3W-16527 on 7 October 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will support cultural enterprises and ensure that they prosper.

Michael Russell: The government is committed to ensuring that Creative Scotland supports the prosperity and innovation of cultural enterprises by maximising the use of its resources, and will work in partnership with other relevant bodies in doing so.

  Creative Scotland, as a single, unified body for arts and culture will help realise the potential contribution of creativity in every part of society and the economy.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will realise the potential of creativity in the economy.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will bring to fruition the value of the arts and culture and support activities that involve the application of creative skills to the development of products and processes.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will promote, support, stimulate and grow the creative industries.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will grow employment and investment in the creative industries.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Creative Scotland will be set targets to grow employment and investment in the creative industries.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will foster enterprise within the cultural sector.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, if Creative Scotland does not have a general responsibility to pursue the economic benefits of the creative sector, what individual or organisation will.

Michael Russell: The Creative Industries Framework Agreement, published on 5 February 2009, sets out how Creative Scotland will work together with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local authorities to deliver practical support for the creative industries. Those organisations are committed to the Framework and are now preparing implementation arrangements.

  The role for Creative Scotland described in the Framework Agreement will be reflected in the relevant provisions in the Public Services Reform Bill and accompanying Policy Memorandum which will be laid before Parliament in due course. Once established, it will be for Creative Scotland to decide in detail how to implement its remit to support and grow the creative industries.

  The Framework Agreement is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/CulturalPolicy/creative-scotland/CreativeIndustries.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will fulfil each of the functions of the culture fund.

Michael Russell: The key priorities of Creative Scotland will be supporting artists and creative practitioners, increasing access and participation and promoting appreciation and enjoyment of the arts and culture in all their manifestations.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends that the Bill that establishes Creative Scotland will include a power for ministers to give Creative Scotland directions on funding.

Michael Russell: It is right and proper that ministers should have the power to give direction to Creative Scotland over its general functions, as with all public bodies. However, we will enshrine in legislation the "arms length" principle which is rightly valued by the arts community because it guarantees autonomy in respect of Creative Scotland’s artistic and cultural judgement.

Creative Scotland

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Creative Scotland will promote diversity in arts and culture and ensure that ethnic minority communities are represented on it and their cultural interests are safeguarded and secured by it.

Michael Russell: Creative Scotland will have as one of its key priorities ensuring access to and participation in the arts and culture so that as many people as possible can enjoy, contribute to and benefit from them. Details of its remit will be for consideration by the Parliament following introduction of the Public Services Reform Bill later this year.

  Appointments to the board of Creative Scotland will be governed by the procedures to ensure openness and transparency laid down by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for Scottish Opera in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Michael Russell: The budget for Scottish Opera in 2008-09 and 2009-10 is £8.459 million and £8.628 million respectively and the planned budget for 2010-11 is £8.801 million.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the increase in real terms is for the Scottish Opera budget in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Michael Russell: Scottish Opera has received a 2% cash increase in its budget from the Scottish Government for each of the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 and also in the planned budget for 2010-11. This equates to a real terms decrease of 1.21% in 2008-09, and real terms increases of 2.50% and 3.28% in 2009-10 and 2010-11 against the 2007-08 baseline.

Education

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been provided in its budget to subsidise five days outdoor education for the 10 most deprived council wards.

Keith Brown: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth gave a commitment during the budget process that he would release £1 million to assist with financing outdoor education. We will bring forward detailed proposals in due course, following discussions with interested stakeholders.

Employment

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a minimum number of redundancies that must be announced by a business to ensure Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team support.

Fiona Hyslop: From this year, there is no longer a minimum number of redundancies that must be announced by a business to ensure Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team support. The Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland are in the process of communicating this as widely as possible to ensure that employers and employees are aware of the support available.

Energy

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the levels of (a) electricity and (b) gas storage and what effect the recent cold weather has had on both.

Jim Mather: Scottish Government officials are in regular dialogue with the UK government regarding patterns in energy supply and demand, including information on storage issues. The frequency of information sharing and discussion is increased over the winter period. Current assessments do not foresee any extraordinary risk to security of supply.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons it remains opposed to allowing local authorities to offer local fiscal incentives to encourage the uptake of micro-generation and energy efficiency technologies.

Jim Mather: This government remains fully committed to replacing the unfair council tax with a fairer tax based on ability to pay. Legislation will now be brought forward following elections in 2011.

  There are already a number of measures available to encourage the uptake of microgeneration and energy efficiency technologies including:

  Energy Saving Scotland advice centres;

  Carbon Emission Reduction Target which subsidises energy efficiency measures;

  Recent changes to permitted development to allow a wider range of microgeneration technologies to be fitted without the need for planning permission;

  The introduction of the Home Report including an Energy Performance Certificate and an Energy Report with recommendations for measures to improve the energy performance of a home;

  Grants for microgeneration technologies through the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables initiative;

  The introduction of the new Energy Assistance Package from April 2009, and

  The recent Budget announcement of £15 million of new money for an area-based Home Insulation Scheme.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to develop a strategy to improve the energy efficiency of existing building stock.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government will be producing an Energy Efficiency Action Plan which will set out the policies and programmes being undertaken to improve the energy efficiency of all sectors, including the existing building stock.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it plans to implement to improve energy efficiency before the passage of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is making important progress in improving energy efficiency. Measures that are currently being implemented include:

  The introduction of a new requirement, from 1 December 2008, for all houses put on sale to require a Home Report – including an EPC and Energy Report with recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency.

  Announcement of proposals for the first stage of an ambitious area based home insulation scheme supported by £15 million of new government funding plus £15 million from other sources. The scheme is currently being developed and is expected to be launched in the autumn.

  A commitment to bring forward proposals for a significant loan mechanism. This will assist householders wishing to undertake more expensive measures, such as solid wall insulation and installing renewable technologies.

  A new Energy Assistance package [which commences 6 April 2009] will do more to help rural households by including a wider range of measures which will benefit rural homes including air source heat pumps for those off the gas grid and a wider range of insulation measures for homes which cannot take traditional measures such as cavity wall insulation. To ensure that these more expensive measures can be installed the grant maximum has been raised by £500 to £4,000 and the upper grant has been raised by £1,000 to £6,500 for homes which have particularly poor energy efficiency.

  The Energy Assistance Package will be backed by Scottish Government funding worth around £60 million per annum – 30% more than the original fuel poverty budget and will help to lever in additional CERT funding from the energy companies worth up to £100 million. The package will be delivered through the successful Energy Saving Scotland Advice network co-ordinated by the Energy Saving Trust.

  Working with energy suppliers, through the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group, to ensure that Scotland receives its fair share of CERT activity not only in terms of population, but also to meet our distinctive energy needs.

  Funding the Carbon Trust to support larger, energy intensive businesses and public sector bodies, to reduce their energy use. Through the Energy Saving Scotland advice network, Energy Saving Trust deliver sustainability living advice to consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21293 by Jim Mather on 13 March 2009, whether it considers that the approach taken by ministers in relation to the decision to integrate the Intermediary Technology Institutes (ITIs) into Scottish Enterprise is consistent with paragraph 16 of the Protocol Between Committee Clerks and the Scottish Executive, which states that "The Executive will keep Committees informed about any announcements, News Releases, reports and other activity relevant to the Committee’s remit".

Jim Mather: As I indicated in answer to question S3W-21293 on 13 March 2009, the decision was taken by Scottish Enterprise as it was an operational matter for them. On that basis, ministers had no locus to inform others in advance of the announcement.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it has not included sites of special scientific interest and Ramsar sites within the scope of its draft regulations on the transposition of the EU environmental liability directive into Scots law.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35/CE) covers only those sites mentioned in the draft Regulations. Other sites are already adequately dealt with under other regimes.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to change the regulations to transpose the EU environmental liability directive into Scots law from establishing environmental damage from conservation status to a measure of site integrity, in light of suggestions by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Scottish Environment LINK.

Roseanna Cunningham: The draft Regulations will transpose the Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35/CE). This defines damage to protected species and habitats in terms of conservation status.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that sites of special scientific interest and Ramsar sites will be given second class status among sites of biodiversity and ecological importance if they are not protected under the EU environmental liability directive.

Roseanna Cunningham: No. Sites of special scientific interest and Ramsar sites are adequately covered under existing regimes, where protected sites will not be affected by the new regime. The Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35/CE) does not require that sites of special interest and Ramsar sites be covered by transposing legislation.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that omitting sites of special scientific interest and Ramsar sites from protection under the EU environmental liability directive will cause confusion between operators and authorities, and among authorities themselves, where responsibility overlaps or covers certain aspects of a site but not all of it and, if so, whether it considers that including such sites would alleviate these potential problems.

Roseanna Cunningham: We are confident the draft Regulations may be properly applied.

  No. We do not believe there will be confusion. The majority of respondents to our first public consultation exercise including Scottish Natural Heritage were not in favour of including SSSIs in our Regulations.

Finance

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with HM Treasury about the timing of the next Comprehensive Spending Review at UK level.

John Swinney: We have raised the timing of the next spending review at both official and ministerial levels over recent months. HM Treasury have not informed us of when the next spending review will take place.

Health

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases the NHS has been guilty of clinical negligence in each year since 1997 and how much compensation was paid each year, also broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11099 on 14 April 2008 which contains the data requested for the financial years 1996-97 to 2006-07. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

  The following table details the number of clinical negligence cases that settled in 2007-08 together with the sums paid out in those settlements.

  

 Health Board
Settled Cases (No.)
Sums Paid (£)


 Ayrshire and Arran
 15
 363,985


 Borders
 8
 1,650,348


 Dumfries and Galloway
 4
 98,696


 Fife
 11
 507,829


 Forth Valley
 9
 82,186


 Grampian
 14
 1,979,524


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 48
 5,826,852


 Highland
 6
 898,000


 Lanarkshire
 22
 1,805,088


 Lothian
 25
 905,907


 Tayside
 16
 198,229


 Scottish Government Health Directorates
 3
 128,000


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 1
 70,000


 Total
 182
 14,514,644

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards allow patients to self-refer for physiotherapy treatment.

Nicola Sturgeon: Self-referral for physiotherapy is available in some areas of NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Highland, NHS Lothian, NHS Tayside and NHS Western Isles. This service will also be available, in the near future, in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Lanarkshire.

  The Scottish Government recognises the need to have a more systematic approach for self referral to physiotherapy and is currently piloting a centralised referral management system, within NHS Lothian, using the technologies of NHS 24. This pilot will be evaluated and if successful will be rolled out throughout Scotland.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when discharge letters for hospital patients will all be passed electronically between hospitals and GP practices.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are currently working towards the HEAT target for 90% of GP-to-hospital referrals to be managed electronically by December 2010. As we near achievement of this target we will assess the opportunities for technology to support improvements in the discharge process, including electronic transmission of discharge letters.

Historical Documents

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to The National Archives in Surrey for the permanent return to Scotland of the William Wallace safe conduct letter.

Michael Russell: I have asked George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Government has no plans to request The National Archives (TNA) to transfer the William Wallace document it possesses to The National Archives of Scotland (NAS). To make a successful claim, NAS would need to demonstrate that the document belonged to Wallace in an official capacity and was therefore a record of the early Scottish state. Experts in NAS do not believe that it is a safe conduct, nor is there clear evidence that it was taken from Wallace on his capture. It does not follow the form of a safe conduct, it does not say what a safe conduct of that time would have said, and it does not have an authenticating seal.

  Any request for return of a document to Scotland must be based on clear evidence about its provenance. The 1297 Lubeck letter was created in Scotland but was addressed to the city of Lubeck and it is correct that it remains there. In the case of the Wallace document in TNA, NAS genuinely does not have enough evidence to substantiate a claim that it should be returned to Scotland.

  The Wallace document is well looked after in TNA and there is a digital image on their website for anyone to view. NAS will shortly launch a website feature on documents which are of significant interest to Scottish history, but which, for good reason, have ended up outside the country, including the Lubeck letter, the Poppleton manuscript and this Wallace document.

Honours

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the arrangements are in Scotland for consideration of nominations for honours and what changes there have been since May 2007.

John Swinney: Nominations are received from a variety of sources, including members of the public, outside organisations and Lord-Lieutenants. Prior to May 2007, Scottish ministers added their own nominations to those from other sources. Nominations from all sources are initially assessed by Scottish Government officials who assist the Permanent Secretary in preparing recommendations for the UK-wide selection committees to consider. Since May 2007, the First Minister has chosen not to exercise the right to approve the recommendations by the Permanent Secretary. The UK-wide selection committees submit their recommendations to HM The Queen through the Prime Minister.

International Development

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with HM Government and other key stakeholders with a view to helping to reduce the number of maternal and neonatal fatalities in developing countries.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is an active member of the steering group to take forward Health is Global: A UK Government Strategy and officials have participated in meetings with colleagues in the relevant UK Departments involved in the strategy. This reinforces Scotland’s commitment to tackling global health issues and meeting the Millennium Development Goals of developing countries, including that of maternal health.

  More specifically, as part of our international development programme maternal and neonatal health is an area which the Government of Malawi has highlighted as a priority for Scottish Government support. We have continued our support for this important area, working with key stakeholders in Malawi and Scotland, and in January this year we announced further funding for projects which will work to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.

International Relations

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the occasions when Scottish ministers and officials have met representatives of the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign since May 2007, the names of attendees and the topics that were discussed.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has not held any meetings at ministerial or official level with representatives of the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.

Justice

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether procurators fiscal have increased the proportion of applications for special bail conditions since January 2009.

Frank Mulholland QC: Case records in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case management database do not contain any electronically searchable information about applications for special conditions of bail. It is not possible to extract information of the type requested.

  Guidance to procurators fiscal makes it clear that additional or special conditions of bail should be sought in appropriate cases where they provide an acceptable alternative to remand in custody.

Justice

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently on bail and how many people were on bail at the same date in 2008.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of people on bail at any one point in time is not held centrally.

Nutrition

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in schools to promote the cooking of healthy food.

Keith Brown: The acquisition of knowledge and skills to enable young people to make healthy food choices which promote lifelong healthy eating habits is a core part of Curriculum for Excellence Health and Wellbeing experiences and outcomes.

  The Scottish Cooking bus which visits primary and secondary schools throughout Scotland, providing on-board lessons which teach children how to cook simple healthy meals further enhances work being undertaken within schools. These sessions are specially tailored classes by qualified teachers, in a safe, well-equipped mobile kitchen. Design Dimension Education Trust operates the bus on the Scottish Government’s behalf.

Nutrition

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether teachers need a specific qualification to teach the cooking of healthy food in schools.

Keith Brown: No. There is no teaching qualification in "the cooking of healthy food". The statutory requirement relating to teacher employment is that local authorities shall employ teachers with the appropriate professional skills and knowledge necessary to enable them to undertake the teaching duties allocated to them.

Nutrition

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers are qualified to teach the cooking of healthy food in secondary schools.

Keith Brown: There is no teaching qualification in "the cooking of healthy food". Local authorities are required to employ teachers with the appropriate professional skills and knowledge necessary to enable them to undertake the teaching duties allocated to them.

  According to the most recently published teacher census data, there are 1,025 teachers of home economics in secondary schools.

Nutrition

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers are qualified to teach the cooking of healthy food in primary schools.

Keith Brown: There is no teaching qualification in "the cooking of healthy food". All teachers in primary schools must have a Teaching Qualification and may be required to teach the full range of the primary school curriculum.

Nutrition

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers plan to increase the number of teachers qualified to teach the cooking of healthy food in schools.

Keith Brown: There is no teaching qualification in "the cooking of healthy food". It is up to local authorities to ensure that they employ adequate numbers of teachers with the appropriate professional skills and knowledge necessary to enable them to undertake the teaching duties allocated to them. Professional skills and knowledge may be acquired during initial teacher education and through continuing professional development throughout a teacher’s career.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9066 by Michael Russell on 25 February 2008, for what reason at the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee meeting on the 19 March 2008 the Minister for Environment said "I have never intervened in a planning process" (Official Report c. 614).

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9059 on 25 February 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-10935 and S3W-10942 by Michael Russell on 11 April 2008, for what reason it decided not to ask the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) if it took an informed approach to decision making and erred on the side of caution in relation to flood risk assessment of the Aviemore resort hotels master plan application and whether it will explain why the Aviemore resort hotels master plan planning application was approved by SEPA without a satisfactory flood risk assessment despite planning guidance issued by the Scottish Government and statutory obligations requiring them to complete one.

Roseanna Cunningham: SEPA’s decisions on individual planning applications, including the assessment of the flood risk associated with Aviemore Highland Resort’s master plan, are operational matters for SEPA. I am satisfied that SEPA’s approach was compatible with the Scottish Government’s planning guidance note SPP7.

Police

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community police officers are funded from the Fairer Scotland Fund, broken down by local authority area.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the Fairer Scotland Fund has been allocated for community policing, broken down by local authority area.

Alex Neil: The Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) is deployed by Community Planning Partnerships to achieve priority outcomes for local communities. Individual investments of FSF are a matter for local decision by each Partnership. As such the information requested is not held centrally.

Police

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, of police officers who have been suspended since 2003, how many have been suspended for (a) less than one month, (b) one to two months, (c) three to six months and (d) more than six months.

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been suspended with pay in each year since 2003.

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average a police officer is taken off the beat to process an arrest.

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average a police officer is taken off the beat to process an incident.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to reduce the number of people held in prison.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government’s new offender management plan Protecting Scotland’s Communities: Fair, Fast and Flexible Justice was published on Wednesday, 17 December 2008. The plan aims to deliver a coherent offender management strategy built on a robust regime of community penalties and strong and proportionate management for offenders sentenced to prison. The plan responds to the recommendations of the independent Scottish Prisons Commission which reported in July 2008.

Prison Service

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug-free wings there are in each prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The only establishment that currently operates a drug free area is HMP Kilmarnock.

  The SPS approach is the provision of a range of Addiction Support Services to prisoners, irrespective of their location with an establishment.

  Over recent years, SPS has moved from the operation of Drug Free Areas in prisons to integrated treatment care which provides individually structured support for prisoners from admission to liberation, including for those who wish to become drug free.

Prison Service

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many random drug tests have been carried out on prisoners in the last 12 months, broken down by prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table illustrates the kinds of tests undertaken in the last 12 months.

  

 Establishment Code
Frequent Test Programme
On Reception
Reasonable Suspicion
Risk Assessment
 Voluntary
 Grand Total


 Aberdeen
 
 
 
 8
 1
 9


 Barlinnie
 
 1
 30
 1,474
 346
 1,851


 Cornton Vale
 124
 
 73
 202
 1,152
 1,551


 Dumfries
 
 
 136
 92
 1
 229


 Edinburgh
 12
 
 62
 911
 76
 1,061


 Glenochil
 2
 1
 219
 11
 1,784
 2,018


 Greenock
 13
 57
 49
 234
 
 353


 Inverness
 
 
 15
 13
 
 28


 Kilmarnock
 
 
 600
 158
 894
 1,652


 Open Estate
 
 1
 131
 6,036
 15
 6,183


 Peterhead
 6
 1
 42
 196
 240
 486


 Polmont
 5
 
 285
 367
 122
 779


 Perth
 
 
 347
 588
 
 935


 Shotts
 
 
 531
 1,062
 2,072
 3,665


 Grand Total
 162
 61
 2,520
 11,352
 6,703
 20,800

Procurement

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of invoices for public sector contracts is paid within 10 days.

John Swinney: For the month of February 2009, the Scottish Government paid 84.3% of transactions for which there were Scottish Government contracts within the payment target of 10 working days. Emerging results for March indicate that this performance is increasing towards 90%.

  As reported in the answer to question S3W-21183 on 20 March 2009, overall payment performance for the month of February 2009 was that 86.5% of transactions were paid within 10 working days. This includes one-off purchases that were not the subject of contracts. Emerging results for March show this performance moving to in excess of 90%.

  The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to the payment performance of public bodies who do not use the Scottish Government’s financial systems and processes. All public bodies should be working towards the 10 day payment target.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to prepare a detailed supply chain analysis for the marine renewables industry.

Jim Mather: The need for a detailed supply chain analysis has been raised by the marine renewables industry within the FREDS (Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland) Marine Energy Group (MEG). The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are working closely with the marine renewables industry to consider the most effective way of taking forward this analysis.

  When completed the findings of this analysis will guide the future actions of MEG and will also feed into the Scottish Government’s on-going work around the Renewables Action Plan to be published in June.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the marine renewables industry about the need for a detailed supply chain analysis.

Jim Mather: The need for a detailed supply chain analysis has been raised by the marine renewables industry within the FREDS (Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland) Marine Energy Group (MEG). As a short-term action from MEG, the Scottish Government and the marine renewables industry are working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in taking forward this analysis for both the marine renewables and offshore wind industries.

  When completed, the findings of this analysis will guide the future actions of MEG and feed into the Scottish Government’s on-going work around the Renewables Action Plan to be published in June.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will task Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise with preparing a detailed supply chain analysis for, and in close collaboration with, the marine renewables industry.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government and the marine renewables industry are working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to consider how we collectively take forward a detailed supply chain analysis of marine renewables in the very near future. The need for this analysis has been identified as a short-term action point by the FREDS (Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland) Marine Energy Group (MEG).

Renewable Energy

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the power coefficients of wind farm generation destined for the national grid.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has no such plans.

  Technical standards for connecting generators to the National Grid are regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) under legislation reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does, however, engage regularly with National Grid and Ofgem to ensure renewable generators in Scotland do not face significant connection delays, unnecessarily high costs or administrative burdens in applying for or obtaining connection to distribution networks.

  In addition, in 2008 we consulted on proposals to meet Scotland’s renewable energy targets from a wide range of sources. That will include increasing electricity generation from both onshore and offshore wind, proposals for which are put forward by private developers. We aim to publish our Renewables Action Plan this summer.

Renewable Energy

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the 2008 woodfuel demand and usage data published by Forestry Commission Scotland, whether it has conducted research on the likely effects on employment of the displacement of the wood processing industries by the biomass energy industry.

Roseanna Cunningham: Forestry Commission Scotland has not conducted research on the likely effects on employment of the displacement of the wood processing industries by the biomass energy industry. To date, despite a threefold increase in the use of woodfuel since 2005 in Scotland, there have been no directly attributable negative impacts on employment in the wood processing industries. The wood fuel taskforce identified significant additional sources of woody biomass, which if brought to market will allow the biomass energy industry to develop alongside the existing wood processing sector.

Rural Development

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to provide direct funding for the Gretna Landmark project and, if so, how much.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has no plans at present to provide direct funding to the Gretna Landmark project.

Rural Development

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many countryside ranger posts there were in May 2007.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many countryside ranger posts there are.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities employ fewer countryside rangers than they did two years ago.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not collect comprehensive information on the number of countryside ranger posts in Scotland.

Scottish Government Funding

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ever disallowed a private sector bidder from submitting a traditional PPP as a standard variant for any previous contracts.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has not been a direct contracting party to any projects involving private finance which have entered procurement after May 2007. We are also not aware of such requests being made by other public bodies which have projects involving private finance and which have entered procurement after May 2007. We have however already made abundantly clear that the PFI approach used in the past has not delivered best value for the taxpayer.

Voluntary Organisations

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has provided to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations since 17 May 2007, broken down by (a) award and (b) date of award.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has made the following grant awards directly to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), which includes both core funding and funding for specific initiatives. Funding has been awarded across a number of themes including: third sector; children, young people and social care; equalities; rural issues; regeneration; international and the national conversation.

  The following grant funding awards for 2007-08 and 2008-09 do not include funding that SCVO receives to wholly distribute to other third sector organisations or work secured under contract. Figures do not include funding from agencies, non-departmental public bodies or other public sector bodies. The financial year 2008-09 has not completed, so figures may be subject to change.

  SCVO publishes its annual report and financial statement on its website www.scvo.org.uk.

  2007-08

  

 Amount of Award
 Purpose


 650,000
 Core funding


 200,000
 Developmental support to the Councils for Voluntary Service network (CVS)


 53,000
 Research Observatory - to develop a shared core of research evidence about the voluntary sector


 12,000
 Sponsorship of Third Sector seminar


 68,250
 Building Bridges Project – support to voluntary sector organisations to address equalities and human rights issues


 9,998
 Survey of voluntary organisations’ support for migrant workers


 80,635
 Section 9 training grant – social work training


 5,000
 Rural equality seminars


 86,157
 Support services to rural voluntary sector organisations


 5,174
 Rural services conference 


 1,885
 Promotion of use of Rural Community Gateway website


 10,000
 Regeneration project – new village halls


 12,043
 Facilitate voluntary sector engagement in public discourse around future governance of Scotland, with a view providing contribution to National Conversation


Total: 1,194,142
 



  2008-09

  

 Amount of Award
 Purpose


 650,000
 Core funding


 400,000
 Developmental support to the Councils for Voluntary Service network (CVS) - the increase in developmental support for the CVS network reflects the need to support CVS’s through the process of engaging with Single Outcome Agreements


 45,505
 Strategic partnership on skills to develop skills infrastructure for the third sector


 49,350 
 Implementation of PQASSO quality standard for CVS network


 74,980
 Development of third sector interactive evidence library


 10,000
 Qualitative research on relationship between civil society and governments in a range of countries


 92,345
 Section 9 training grant – social work training


 87,200
 Support services to rural voluntary sector organisations


 195,000
 To deliver "Rural Direct", an advisory service for community groups in non-crofting areas in rural Scotland to support them in making funding bids


 25,830
 Facilitate voluntary sector engagement in public discourse around future governance of Scotland, with a view providing contribution to National Conversation


 62,775
 Support for Malawian Civil Society 2007-2009 project - of which £47,575 goes to the Council of NGOs of Malawi and £15,200 remains with SCVO


 Total: 1,692,985

Voluntary Organisations

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing to grow the social enterprise sector in the current economic climate; how it publicises funding available to people wishing to set up such enterprises, and how many social enterprise companies there are.

Jim Mather: We want Scotland to lead in the development of an enterprising third sector, including social enterprises. To support this we have increased direct investment in the sector by 37% to £93.6 million between 2008 and 2011.

  We have announced support for third sector organisations, and for individuals who want to start up a new social enterprise. Information on the Enterprise Fund (£12 million) and the Social Entrepreneurs Fund (£1 million) is available on the Scottish Government website and through intermediaries such as First Port, SCVO, and the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition.

  There are no official statistics available on the number of social enterprises operating in Scotland because social enterprises do not have a separate legal status.

Voluntary Organisations

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have volunteered as a result of the activities of organisations it funds for that purpose in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008, broken down by organisation.

John Swinney: Scottish Government provides direct funding for Volunteer Development Scotland, the national centre for excellence, and the 32 local volunteer centres across Scotland. In addition, third sector organisations draw extensively on the skills and capacity of volunteers and the many organisations we support, directly and indirectly, in the third sector will also contribute to the encouragement of volunteering.

  We believe that over 1.3 million people in Scotland volunteer in some way each year making a positive contribution to our communities at every level. It is not, however, possible to identify how many people volunteer as a direct result of individual volunteer support organisations. Individuals choose to volunteer for a wide range of reasons and their route into volunteering is a matter of personal choice.

Wildlife

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what Forestry Commission Scotland’s policy is regarding roe deer on its land.

Roseanna Cunningham: Deer on the national forest estate are managed in accordance with the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 and the Scottish Government’s strategy Scotland’s Wild Deer: A National Approach.

  Forestry Commission Scotland regard roe deer as an integral part of the forest environment and, when managed to appropriate population levels, an asset.

  Their policy on the national forest estate is to:

  maintain sustainable populations of native deer species, including roe deer;

  undertake all deer culling in an exemplary, safe and humane manner;

  work collaboratively with relevant organisations and neighbours to develop integrated deer management plans that seek to recognise the interests of all parties, and

  take opportunities to generate sustainable economic activity from sporting and venison.